Liquid filling valve



July 27, 1943. E. 's. MINARD LIQUID FILLING VALVE Filed May 10 1941 VINVENTOR. EVERETT S. MINARD BY ATTORNEY Patented July 27, 1943 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE i i v V 7 2,325,419

moon) FILLING VA VE Everett S. Minard, San Francisco ,balif assignor,

bymesne assignments, to The Pfaudler 00.,

Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May l0; 1941, Serial No. 392,923

z Ciairns. (01. 226-424),

The present invention relates to improvements in liquid fillingvalves, and its principal object is a to minimize the aeration of the; liquid in the filling process. t

More particularly the invention relates to contamer-operated filling valves in which the liquid:

the liqu d is discharged into to allow the air to escape from the container while the liquid fiows thereinto.

With many liquids it is desirable to keep the liquid out'of contact with air as much as possible and ithas been dificultyto arrange the vent with respect to the valve opening in such a manner that the vent would take care of all displacedair during the filling operation particularly toward the end o-f vthe latter I lIn most achines developed for vthis purpose, #1

a certain amountof air becomes trapped,particularly toward the end of the operationjandinst'ead of having free access to the vent is made to'gurgle back through the valve opening and to rise through the liquid in the conduit and through theliquid in the tank before reaching the atmosphere.

In the present'invention it is proposed to pre vent this occurrencefand to; provide a valve structur which keeps access of displaced air to the vent open until the container is filled to its capacity so that al l the air is made toesoape through the vent rather than through the v'alve It is further ture in which the inflow of 'liquid into the container stops when the level of the liquid reaches the vent, so thatthe liquid' cannot rise to a level higher than the vent intake. I In structures of this type, it is usual to employ a"poppet valve, which, when open, shower the material into the container in theform of an annular curtaini Since the vent "is preferably arranged in thecenter of the valve for'instance in the'iorm of a hollowvalve stermthe annular curtain of descending liquid forms, a closure around the vent so as to shut off access for air disposed outside the curtain.

It is a particular object of the present invenmph to overcome thisdifliculty py breaking the proposed to provide a valve struc t curtain of descending liquid at various points and to provide passage ways which guide air from the outside of the curtain through the latter and toward the vent. j It is further proposed to provide a valve structure in which the" f nal outlet opening of the valve is restricted'as compared with the crosssection 'of the conduit leading to the valve; so that the liquid is made topass' through the valve opening as a solid mass which further ,tendstO discourage air from rising through the valve p n n my valve structur a small amount of air is trapped underneath the sealing means and thie space occupied by this air is filled after the seal isbroken, In order to effect complete fillingof the container and even filling of a large plurality of containers, it is" essential to provide a me sajustment whereby the amount of entrapped air may be controlled, and it is a furtherobject of invention to provide such adjustment} finally it is proposed to provide an improved mounting means for a sealingwasher which firmly retains the latter in place,'but also allowsof easy removal of the same. a c Further objects and advantages of my invention will appe'aras the specification proceeds; and the 'novelfeatures of the same will be run set forth in the claims hereto attached. 5 The preferred form' of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing; in which: Figure 1 shows a vertical section through the valve structure with the valve closed and the container withdrawn from the sealing washer;

Figure 2, a vertical section through the same valve, "with the valve opened by a container pressed against the sealing means from below; and l 7 Figure 3, an isometric view of the valve head. VJhiie I have shown only the preferred'fo'rm of myinvention; I wish to have it understood thatvarious changeso-rmodiiications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached, without departing from the spirit of my invention:

Referring to the drawing indetail, a filling tube or conduit 5 is secured to a supply tank the' bottom' of which is indicated at 2. The filling tube suspended vertically from the bottom jOf the tank, and is open at the top to receive liquid supply from the tank. U f

fc'lhe tube is held in place by means of a lock nut 3 which draws a bevelled projection of the filling tube against the tank bottom toirnake a tight sealbetween the tank and'th e tube,

A pair of arms 5 arranged in the form of a yoke and formed integral with the filling tube support a boss 6 in axial alinement with the filling tube and above the latter. The arms leave ample space, as indicated at l, to allow liquid to run from the tank into the tube.

A valve sleeve 9 is slidably mounted on the filling tube and its downward motion on the tube is limited by a valve head 9 which latter is supported by the valve stem I a secured in the boss ii,

the stem I8 being hollow so as to serve as a vent. The valvesleeve 8 and the valve 9 have I which is threaded upon the valve sleeve and locked in place by the lock nut It. The sealing ring is held in place byan annular series of lugs I4 extending downwardly from the plate i5 on.

.the outside of the rubber ring, and having small projections catching underneath therubber ring. I The backing plate l5 can be screwed upward or downward to determine the location of'the sealing ring I3 on thevalvesleeve.

The vent or hollow stem Iii is open through thehead of the valve and its upper end extends above the level of the liquid in the supply tank.

The lower end of thevalvesleeve 8 has an annular flange lefsuspended therefrom, the said flange being spaced from the valve head so as .to form an annular chamber I8 therewith. This chamber forms a continuation oflthe valve opening and extends the valve passage to the bottom l8 to within close proximity of, the flan e IS".

Theinner ends of these channels lead to, and stop short of the openend of the vent tubeiil. The container I9 is shown as somewhat larger in diameter than theflange I8, and as being adapted to bear against the rubber ring or washer I3 for raisingv the valve sleeve when the container is raised by means of the platform 20. The operation of my valve structure is as follows: v a 7 Liquid flows from the supply tank 2 into the tube [which is normally closed at the'bottom by the valve head 9.. v ,-A container is placed on the lifter 26 in axial alinernentwith the valve and underneaththe rubber ring or washer E3. The lifter is then raised so as to push the upper edge of the containeragainst the washer i3 and to thereby seal the top'of the container i9. Upon continuation of the upward movement, the container compresses the spring Iland lifts the sleeve 8 from the valve headzfl so as to open the valve.

The container is stopped in its upward movement when the lower edge of the sleeve 8 isin a horizontal plane with the under surface of the channels IT, as shown in Figure 2.

Liquid begins to flow from the tube I into the container as soon as sleeve 8 leaves the head9, and the backs of the channels split the liquid, which issues from the valve opening in the form of an annular curtain'or cone, into a plurality of separate streams; This allows the air from outside the curtain to freely pass through the channels toward the inside and toward the vent tube In for escape therethrough.

The liquid fills the container to the bottom edge of the sleeve 8, and at this point the air which remains outside the flange I8 cannot escape through the tube Ill and is compressed between the rubber seal and the liquid. This gives the desired amount of fill in the container, as the amount of air so trapped is controlled by the adjustment up'or down of the sealing washer I3 on the sleeve 8.

When the valve first opens, the air that is in the annular chamber is of the valve sleeve 8 is pushed downwardby the pressure of the liquid,

. of the air.

The valve should be constructed so thatthe space for the liquid through the tube I and past the head 9 is greater in area than the space between the channels in the annular chamber I8.

- This causes the liquid to pass in a solid, mass or is lowered from thevalve, and spring I I closes the latter. a

Any liquid that haspassedinto the tube II! at the end of the filling operation, drains back into the container, as soon as the seal is broken.

Adjustment, of therubber I3 is made to compensate for the run back liquid so that the container will be filled with the desired amount.

The lugs or prongs I l are provided to keep the rubber washer from falling away from the valve, and they are sufficiently closeon plate I5 to furnish a good hold'for the washer and sufliciently 1. In a container-operated liquid filling means,

a vertical conduit having means 'for feeding a liquid therethrough and having a movable valve seat at its discharge end, and a valve supported in said conduit in cooperative relation to the valve seat and having a hollow central stem to serve as a vent, the valve seat being operable by a container for raising the seat to form a liquid passage into the container for filling the latter and havinga depending annular flange surrounding the valve inside the container to guide the liquid downward in the form of an annular curtain spaced from the container wall and to form a trap with the container wall, the valve having a bottom face'substantially level withthe bottom edge of the flange when the valve seat is raised whereby the air in the container is guided "for escape through the ventuntil the liquid rises tioned to remain available for venting until the valve passage is sealed by the rising liquid whereby venting through the valve opening is substantially prevented, and the valve having radial guide channels extending to the outer circumference of the passage and adapted to divide the annular curtain of liquid dropping from the valve passage and to guide displaced air from the margin of the container toward the vent.

EVERETT S. MINARD. 

